When we last connected, the world (for women in particular) was a different place: Hillary was still a serious contender as a changemaker of our country, and Donald was just a not-yet-realized nightmare. But I digress.

What remains the same is that we stand behind our vision in creating an encouraging space for extraordinary women to connect, now more than ever. That there is value in bringing together women who otherwise may not have met.

Like Kirsten, with whom I connected in the New Year, and whose email touched me and reminded of the extraordinary warmth and intimacy of our incredible climbing community, locally and globally:

Jeanne,

I read your article both before and after embarking on a solo climbing trip to Spain. Some of the bravery I mustered was from your article, so I would like to start with my thanks and appreciation. So now, I have the climbing travel bug. Going to Spain by myself was the best decision I’ve made so far in this life, and now have the itch for more. In my travels I found this amazing climbing hostel in El Chorro, Spain. I met many other international climbers traveling solo, and felt and instant connection, an instant family, an instant community. It was wonderful to have a genuine connection with another person over dinner or breakfast, and then figure out where to go climbing the next day…

Words are our most powerful means of communication, and what they mean sometimes require additional context and clarification.

When we started Bouldering Babes nearly two years ago, it certainly occurred to us that we might be misconstrued as ‘a sexy diversion from proper climbers.’

But we were so deeply entrenched in our ethos of empowering women through climbing, that we nearly forgot that misunderstanding would be inevitable.

Bouldering Babes takes back the view that ‘climb like a girl’ means anything but awesome, mighty, strong, and a force to be reckoned with.

Bouldering Babes is about owning our strength and athleticism as women climbers as much as it is our femininity; it is a play on and parody of the word ‘babe,’ which has generally been used in a diminutive and diminished way when referring to women.

We stand behind our vision in creating an encouraging space for extraordinary women to connect. That there is value in bringing together women who otherwise may not have met.

It’s another balmy day in Siem Reap, and my tuk-tuk driver races down the tree-lined roads from Angkor Wat leading back into town. We turn down a dusty road, and pass by street food vendors, and lines of colorful clothes held up by old, wooden clothespins before slowing down in front of a modestly-sized outdoor climbing wall. The big broad smiles, and ACN-emblazened neon green t-shirts the kids are wearing tell me that the volunteer staff of Angkor Climbers Net have just held another successful Angkor Climber’s Cup.

Multi-colored panels of plywood adorned with quickdraws for leading and holds of varying shapes and sizes soar above the children. Sem Rom, Cambodia’s first climber, playfully teases the young girls who are climbing for the first time, and explains how to tie a figure eight knot in their native Khmer language. They squeal with delight as they ascend, and celebrate and cheer in unison as each one makes it to the top. They ask to climb again, their faces more radiant and enthusiastic, and their laughs more contagious than before.

Every so often, we’ll interview extraordinary girls doing extraordinary things: this is Girl Crush. This week, we’re stoked to profile Auckland-based athlete Sarah Hay, who recently competed and crushed at the first two New Zealand National Climbing and Bouldering Competitions of the series.

“Climbing has also taken me to places and countries I’d never otherwise have thought to visit and I’m lucky enough to have parents who live in Queenstown which is gorgeous and close to so much great rock.“

Join experienced female instructors Jeanne Fu and Joy Chen for two days of high energy and holistic fitness designed for women, by women. We’ll integrate female-focused bouldering techniques with high intensity interval training, core conditioning, and yoga.

We love climbing with hip flexibility, flawless footwork, strong core work, mobility, and balance to create fluidity with the wall, so there will be some of that. We hate injuries, so there will be none of that!

Bouldering Babes Bootcamp is all about taking women from ‘I can’t’ – which affects everything in her life, and how she relates to the world – to feeling 100% empowered.